Lucerne Valley moves to 3-0 with blowout victory

Photo caption: No. 2 Lonye Logan streaks down the sidelines for a touchdown after making an interception. Photo courtesy Kevin Chen/LVHS Yearbook Staff

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In case you haven’t noticed, this isn’t your father’s Mustangs football team.

Lucerne Valley, a week removed from their stunning road victory versus defending state champion Joshua Springs, avoided a letdown in their week three blowout win over the visiting Lutheran High School Trojans.

On an absolutely picturesque Lucerne Valley evening, the Mustangs started fast and never looked back.

On Lutheran’s second play from scrimmage, linebacker Daniel Quintana forced a Trojan fumble that was recovered by defensive lineman Tyler Beans. A few plays later quarterback Daniel Stratton connected with tight end Brett Swenson for a 19 yard touchdown and Kameron Marx added the two point conversion on an end around to give Lucerne Valley the early 8-0 lead.

After forcing a three and out on the ensuing Trojan possession, Daniel Stratton electrified the crowd with a 76-yard punt return for a score, his second in as many weeks. Quintana powered in for the two point conversion for a 16-0 lead. Stratton followed that up with a 24-yard interception return for a touchdown and the route was on with Lucerne Valley up 22-0 after one quarter of play.

On the first play of the second quarter Stratton hooked up with wide out Lonye Logan for a 43-yard score and Zach Mejia hauled in a pass for the two point conversion to build the lead to 30-0. Quintana added a defensive pick six of his own and Logan took a sweep for a 35-yard touchdown run to push the Mustang lead to 44-0 at halftime. Coach Klinger made wholesale substitutions at the half but the Mustangs continued to roll.

Midway through the third quarter Lucerne Valley thwarted a Lutheran drive when Logan stepped in front of a Trojan receiver for an interception and sprinted 40 yards to pay dirt. Alex Perez added the conversion run to make it 52-0 entering the final quarter. Perez and backup quarterback Kendrick York both got in on the action with fourth quarter touchdown runs; York’s was a quarterback keeper that went 57 yards to close out the scoring for Lucerne Valley.

Overall, a stout Mustangs defense forced eight Trojan turnovers including a school record 7 interceptions. Defensive lineman Kenny Kaiser and Tyler Beans both recorded quarterback sacks and defensive backs Antonio Mendoza, Modesto Pinedo, and Kendrick York also grabbed interceptions.

The kicking game was more than solid with Kameron Marx averaging over 50 yards on his two booming punts and Alex Perez accumulating over 370 yards on 10 kickoffs. Chris Campos, Miguel Molina, and Tyler Beans anchored an offensive line that paved the way for 237 total rushing yards. This was the first of 5 consecutive home games for Lucerne Valley.

Up next is Immanuel Christian High School this Friday at 7 p.m. Come on out to Ron Peavy Field where the sunsets are majestic and the snack bar delectable plus, there is some pretty darn good football being played as well. --------------- Jeff Galian of the Daily Press contributed to this report.